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Tottenham transfer news: Pochettino suffers setback as Premier League rivals set to tie down star man with new contract

Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri has revealed that Danny Drinkwater is close to signing a new deal, which will be a blow to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Premier League champions have been busy signing their star players to new deals this summer, with Riyad Mahrez the latest to put pen-to-paper earlier this week.

As noted by The Sun, Spurs had been monitoring Drinkwater’s situation with a view of pouncing if problems arose in renewal talks, but it doesn’t appear as though Mauricio Pochettino will be reinforcing his midfield with the England international.

Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel, Wes Morgan and Andy King have all signed new deals this summer, and Ranieri is now confident that Drinkwater will follow suit in the coming days.

“I think Drinky is very, very close,” he told the media in his pre-game press conference ahead of facing Arsenal. “I am very happy with Drinky, he had a fantastic season and I am sure also he can improve as he has more confidence. He can extend his career here.”

Should the 26-year-old agree to new terms, it will likely result in the Foxes keeping all the players that were influential to their success last season, aside from N’Golo Kante who left to join Chelsea earlier this summer.

Having lost their opening game against Hull City last weekend though, Ranieri will be fully aware of the fact that agreeing new deals will matter little if his side doesn’t produce on the pitch, and they face another tough test with Arsenal arriving at the King Power Stadium on Saturday evening.

As for Spurs and their transfer push ahead of the deadline, Pochettino has already strengthened his midfield with the signing of Victor Wanyama from Southampton this summer.

In turn, it remains to be seen whether or not he switches his focus elsewhere having now seemingly missed out on Drinkwater, although along with the addition of Vincent Janssen, he will likely be pleased with the options at his disposal until the January transfer window at least.